GAIN Reports from Friday, January 28, 2021

The following GAIN reports were released on January 28, 2021. _______   Brazil: Food and Feed Ingredients Webinar Series The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) developed a series of webinars in 2021 to showcase U.S. products among Brazilian professionals in food and feed industries. The events discussed global trends, technical applications in the industry, and uniqueness of these U.S. products. The Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) in Sao Paulo organized these webinars in partnership with four Cooperators: Almond Boards of California, American Feed Industry Association, U.S. Dry Bean Council, and U.S. Blueberry Highbush Council. If other Cooperators are interested in working with the ATO in this project, contact us at atosaopaulo@usda.gov.   Brazil: Perception of Brazilian Consumers on US Food Products  The Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) in Sao Paulo hired a Brazilian research institute to gather data to help the ATO further develop a social media strategy to increase U.S. food promotions with Brazilian consumers. The analysis focused on attitudes and behaviors towards U.S. cuisine and U.S.-origin food items. The information may also be helpful for American exporters of U.S. consumer-oriented products interested in the Brazilian market and consumers' perceptions towards U.S. products. For further information, contact ATO Sao Paulo through atosaopaulo@usda.gov   China: Snack and Relax Hybrid Virtual Market Showcase a Success Despite Extraordinary COVID-19 Hurdles The Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) in Beijing coordinated with FAS Trade Missions and Shows to conduct "Snack and Relax!", a hybrid Virtual Market Showcase for U.S. snack and craft beer products from December 14 to 16, 2021 (China Standard Time). Despite extraordinary obstacles in the form of sudden, stringent COVID-19 control measures on hotel conference centers and 48-hour nucleic acid test requirements for all in-person attendees, the three-day event hosted 106 one-on-one meetings that connected 16 U.S. exhibitors with 24 buyer companies in China. Buyers included major retailers, importers, e-commerce operators, and distributors. Exhibitors and buyers reported onsite sales of $100,000 and expected sales exceeding $2 million.   European Union: Update on Changing EU Import Conditions for Composite Products U.S. exporters of composite products will face new documentary requirements for shipments to the European Union after January 15, 2022. The new requirements are broken down into three categories of composite products: non-shelf stable, shelf stable with meat, and shelf stable without meat. A new mandatory U.S. government-issued export certificate is needed for all non-shelf stable composite products and for shelf-stable composite products containing meat (except gelatin, collagen, and highly refined products derived from meat). The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will issue the certificate for composite products that bear the USDA mark of inspection. The Agricultural Marketing Service, Dairy Program, will issue the composite products certificate for products that do not bear the USDA mark of inspection, regardless of whether dairy is an ingredient in the composite product. For shelf-stable composite products not containing meat, a private attestation from the importer will be required.   European Union: US Beef Imports into the EU Remained Subdued Throughout 2021 U.S. beef exports into the EU's High Quality Beef (HQB) quota had a hard time in 2021 as they suffered from the repeated closures of the EU hospitality sector from COVID-19. EU imports of U.S. beef decreased substantially after the end-of-year 2020 holiday season and only gradually increased throughout 2021 again. As a result, they ended below 2020 imports, which had still benefited from the first quarter before the COVID-19 impact. As the U.S. specific HQB quota increased as planned in the new year, the quota usage ratio sank to fifty percent.   Panama: Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards Country Report Consumers continue to perceive U.S. food products as high quality, wholesome and reliable, which has resulted in a continuous growth in demand. The U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement entered into force on October 31, 2012, and the United States – Panama Agreement regarding certain sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical standards affecting trade in agricultural products, of December 20, 2006, established simplified requirements for the importation of U.S. food and feed products. Amendments to this bilateral agreement have facilitated U.S. beef, beef products and pet food exports to Panama. Panama imports 60% of all its agricultural product needs from the United States. On March 30, 2021 Panama eliminated the Panamanian Food Safety Authority (formerly AUPSA in Spanish) and created the Panamanian Food Agency (APA in Spanish) to manage the procedures for all imports, exports and local food industry production into an online single window.   South Korea: Grain and Feed Update This report provides updates to the Korea Rice Production 2021 report issued by FAS/Seoul on November 22, 2021, based on new data released by the Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) in December 2021. FAS/Seoul's 2021 rice production and total demand estimates remain unchanged from the previous report, but rice import numbers are revised down as supply chain issues pushed some rice deliveries into 2022. Korea fulfilled all 2021 rice TRQ contracts, including 132,304 metric tons of Country Specific Quota (CSQ) for U.S. rice.   Turkey: Turkish Ag Ministry Authorized to Restrict Certain Ag Exports to Curb Inflation On January 27, 2022, the Turkish government published a regulation (2022/1) that granted the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MinAF) the authority to restrict the export of twenty (20) agricultural products in order to decrease domestic food inflation. As of writing, MinAF has not limited exports of any of these products, but may decide to do so in the future depending on local market conditions. The regulation is valid from the date of publication through December 31, 2022.   For more information, or for an archive of all FAS GAIN reports, please visit gain.fas.usda.gov/. Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your email address to log in. 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